The Synod, a time of grace Ten days after the end of my mission at the Bishops' Conference on August 31, after completing my move from my Xavier community of Vanves to Toronto for the beginning of November, I arrived in Rome to prepare myself for the Youth Synod which took place from October 3 to 28. I was appointed by Pope Francis to participate as an observer in this ecclesial event that will so mark for me the end of ten years of ministry at the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and for Vocations. I received this appointment as a very beautiful gift to close this stage of my life, and at the same time  I read it again today as a new beginning, an entry into a new period of sabbatical, opening up new horizons that are still unknown. Beyond what I could have imagined, this synod was an amazing and wonderful experience of the universal Church. A time of common listening to the Holy Spirit, a time of passage, like a pilgrimage, a blessed time of encounters...

Le synode, un temps de grâce Dix jours après ma fin de mission à la Conférence des Evêques le 31 août dernier, après avoir bouclé  mon déménagement de la communauté de Vanves en vue de mon départ à Toronto pour un temps sabatique début novembre, je suis partie à Rome pour me préparer à vivre le synode des jeunes qui s’est déroulé du 3 au 28 octobre dernier. J’ai donc eu la chance de participer comme auditrice à cet évènement ecclésial marquant dans la suite de ces dix années au Service national pour l’évangélisation des jeunes et pour les vocations. J’ai reçu cela comme un très beau cadeau pour clore cette étape de ma vie, et en même temps je le relis aujourd’hui comme un nouveau départ, une entrée dans une période nouvelle ouvrant vers de nouveaux horizons encore inconnus. Au-delà de ce que j’aurai pu imaginer ce synode fut une expérience incroyable et magnifique de l’Eglise universelle. Un temps d’écoute commune de l’Esprit, un temps de passage en forme de pèlerinage...

© centroarrupevalencia.org/alegria-post-sinodal/   Me parece mentira que haya pasado ya un mes enteramente vivido en este acontecimiento eclesial. Ahora salgo a la calle sin ordenador, sin el Instrumentum Laboris, sin el libro de las oraciones -¡en latín!- sin la tarjeta identificatoria mirada todos los días con absoluta precisión por la guardia suiza …y sin embargo el Sínodo me habita, se me ha metido en el corazón y ya forma parte de mi historia de mujer cristiana perteneciente a la iglesia católica. El día después -lunes 29 de octubre- he tenido necesidad de hacer silencio. Me he ido a la iglesia del Gesú y durante algunas horas han ido tomando cuerpo en mí los días sinodales. El Señor, bien flanqueado allí por Ignacio y Pedro Arrupe, me ha animado a tomar distancia interna de la experiencia, a agradecerla y a depositarla a sus pies como algo que no me pertenece, se me ha regalado y sentía el deseo de devolverla, de ofrecerla para que vuele, para que se multiplique, no...

Sister Mina Kwon, a South Korean nun taking part in this month’s summit of bishops in Rome, has said that as the Church ponders how to better include women in decision-making roles, clericalism must be exposed as an underlying reason they’re not often seen in leadership. A member of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, Kwon is director of the Juniorate in her convent and also director of the Counseling Center in the School of Medicine in the Catholic University of Daegu. In an interview with  Crux , Kwon, participating as a delegate of the International Union of Superiors General in the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment, said that while the situation for women in the Church has improved, there is still a long way to go - including in synods themselves, where women still are unable to vote or be elected to the drafting committee charged with writing the final document. “Women religious want greater participation...

Seven women religious are participating in the Synod of Bishops on Young People, and offer their unique take on it, affirming that young people are truly being heard. Sr. Nathalie Becquart from France, Sr. Teresina Cheng Chaoying from China, Sr. Sally Marie Hodgdon from the US, Sr. Mina Kwon from Korea, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli from Italy, Sr. Lucy Muthoni Nderi from Kenya and Sr. María Luisa Berzosa González from Spain are representing women religious at the Synod of Bishops on Young People. They held a press conference on Monday evening. Before fielding questions, two of the English-speaking sisters provided their unique take on what is happening. Listening differently Sr Sally Marie Hodgdon, Superior General of the Sisters of St Joseph of Chambéry observes that those participating in the Synod of Bishops came “wanting to do something new” and there is “a sense of openness to what they were hearing”. In her 4-minute intervention, Sr Sall...